Then I looked at Leonard Cohen, said “What the hell, I gotta give the Man something back…some kind of a birthday gift, certainly.” inside, and threw the hat on stage.

I loved that Fedora! what a great moment and an excellent concert report.
I tend not to read a great number of the reports (I'll back track after I've seen him) but Istanbul/Turkey is on my top list of places I wish to visit one so I am happy to have gotten a vicarious trip and concert via this thread.

Actually, our two tickets (at least our initial ones, I’ll come to that) were the first thing ever I bought with the money I truly earned myself—the reward from a poetry contest. It is only fitting that reward was used to see the man who inspired me to delve into the world of lines.

how beautiful is that, how wonderful to have been able to buy your tickets from your prize money and only 18! A big congratulations to you.

I'm also happy to have read Blixa's introduction to Mr. Cohen and to have seen that great picture from Sharon.
That guy's 78!? - holy camoli. Makes me want to eat better and exercise more.

Oh, as to the tickets and the (at least our initial ones, I'll come to that) thing:

Our initial tickets were only 3rd category and quite, quite far from the stage--They don't pay one much for poetry, apparently. It was only due to the great generosity and kindness of Martin from Denmark (MartinB on this forum) who gave a Turkish boy he barely knew a gift of two superb first category tickets that we were really close to the stage. I owe him a sublime experience, the experience of a lifetime. I want to to recognize that and thank him once more here.

My musings from afar following the Istanbul concert online - Leonard Cohen Scrapbook
-Twitter
-The carpets on stage
-Neil Larsen plays four instruments, not three like I thought
-LC has been consistent with the lyrics of Everybody Knows - "Sacred Heart"
-LC has reverted to introducing individual band members in the middle of a song
-Some of the setlists are visiblehttp://onboogiestreet.blogspot.com/2012 ... cohen.html

I want to add my thanks to Blixa & The Fedora for the very beautiful & moving reports - your words are treasures & it was a joy to read them.

And Fedora, don't worry too much about the early climax. When you see Leonard again (& I know that you must & you will!), you will see that he always manages to do the impossible, & out-climax his own climaxes! (At least, that's the way it feels - every time. . .)

Fedora, I wasn't so close to the stage, so I didn't get the moment of your hat-giving; but I thought I saw at the end a hat flying from the stage towards the audience. Was that a gift back, I wonder? did you notice it?

Laura wrote:Fedora, I wasn't so close to the stage, so I didn't get the moment of your hat-giving; but I thought I saw at the end a hat flying from the stage towards the audience. Was that a gift back, I wonder? did you notice it?

Laura

Oh my, no, I didn't. I noticed that the hat was gone with the band as I was exiting; but I don't know if it was thrown back and is now at home with some random concertgoer. I'll choose to believe it joined Fred, Vegas Ed and Butler, I guess...

holydove wrote:I want to add my thanks to Blixa & The Fedora for the very beautiful & moving reports - your words are treasures & it was a joy to read them.

And Fedora, don't worry too much about the early climax. When you see Leonard again (& I know that you must & you will!), you will see that he always manages to do the impossible, & out-climax his own climaxes! (At least, that's the way it feels - every time. . .)

Yep, he beautifully outdid his 2009 İstanbul performance last Wednesday. My reason wants to tell me that I shouldn't, I couldn't, I can't hope to see another LC concert; but as you say, I know that I must and I will. I'm sure he's not intending stop writing everything down for a while more.

The famous poet Leonard Cohen concert in Istanbul 8400 people spent Ulker Sports Arena self. Time and again the minstrel stage, leaving bis' I will pray for peace in your country, "he said ...

MİRAÇ ZEYNEP ÖZKARTAL

Arrived in the future, saying come to Istanbul for the second time in three years, Leonard Cohen has lived a former life. And what a progress payment. "Old Ideas" album, world tour came to 3.5 hours Ulker Sports Arena was full on stage.

Stage was the usual, a la Cohen! Carpets on the floor, burgundy velvet chairs, each capped orchestra, vocalists dressed like a razor. And a black suit and collar düğmelenmiş gray shirt, hat and long, thin fingers held like Dino'nunkilere Abidin, twice doladığı microphone cord into the hands of "Dance Me To The End of Love" began the concert.

Afterwards, "The Future" and "Bird On The Wire" arrived. 8 thousand 400 people filled up, removes hall "Everybody Knows" is exactly the present, said:
"Everyone knows that the war is over, everybody knows the good guys lost Everybody knows the fight has already been determined: The poor stay poor, the rich richer."

I played it touches

Hissediyordunuz reflected light enters the eye is struck Spots guitar, Cohen touching you. It had been a thousand people a mood:
"Cohen tells me this song alone. For me alone ... "

"Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye" I kept saying breaths. Mobile phones, the lights seemed to be alone. Because the Japanese people injured in traffic accidents leave cling like mobile phones, cameras, many people leave the phone's screen to see through the eyes of the world watched the Cohen concert. When he whom now göstereceklerse images ... Even the "Leonard Cohen konserindeyim" poses who was not even in the scene that gorgeous man turned their backs.

Huge screen behind the stage turns from yellow to blue, green to red on the way, as usual hat on his chest, leaning in front of Leonard Cohen introduced the team: Mike Scoble, Alexandru Bublitchi, Mitch Watkins, Javier Mas, Neil Larsen, Sharon Robinson, The Webb Sisters, Rafael Gayol, Roscoe Beck.
His latest album "Old Ideas" tan "Amen" i "Darkness", saying I finished the first chapter. He was up the whole room jumping and going backstage.
The second section, in the eyes of sunglasses, appeared in front of the keyboard. "I'm Your Man" album "Such a golden voice, I was born, I had no choice," said "Tower of the Last" la ... Like, "said the new album was for the first episode myself, that's what you want you coming now," says the order, such as hits in a row. 1967 "Suzanne," he called out, 1984, "The Night Comes On", "Heart With No Companion" with. The 1969 album "The Partisan" behind the "Democracy" arrived. "Democracy is coming to America," he said, in 1992, "The Future" album, this song ... "" First, the United States, the cradle of good and evil is coming. " "Today, sentimental, love the country but I can not stand the scene. What Solum nor right, just sitting at my house tonight. Lost in this desperate display. Hurdayım but still keep these wild bouquet: Democracy is coming to America ".

The Webb Sisters "Coming Back To You" media, with many songs signed by Sharon Robinson, "Alexandra Leaving" i say hat still on his chest, listened to them respectfully.

And back came the bombs. "Before I'm Your Man", followed by "Hallelujah". Especially "Hallelujah" ta hell broke loose Arena in Istanbul, the name of the geçirince.

And the finale of "Take This Waltz" did. "Smelling the breath of brandy and death with" waltz called. Standing the whole room applauding at the end of the song "Thank you my friends," he called. Hand shaking disappeared backstage door.

Cheering flood

Liverpool won the basketball championship in the arena as they applause, whistling and cheering had a flood. Leonard Cohen came back and went to İkiletmedi energy. That first album, "So Long, Marianne" in the audience began to slowly come into the scene. After that time no one lived. Cohen everyone stood to passengers. Receives a bouquet of white daisies bent over a prolonged audience, laughing as much as we have not seen very often in Cohen's face before. "First We Take Manhattan" la graduated from the flow, and the "cross-koşuyla" left the scene. Again and again did not quit nazlanmadı applause. And "It's four in the morning, the end of December" in the words alkıştan hall was destroyed. "Did you not tell?", "Not tell you?" He sabırsızlanılan "Famous Blue Raincoat" I hid the end.

A significant real finale at the end of the time, and 3.5 "Closing Time" made with. "We're forgotten time," he said, "But now time to close." "How nice that you do not need to tell you," he added while. His last words were "I will pray for peace in your country" was.
Cohen backstage door when entering the arena to another, praying someone else. Smile on your face every Anyone who goes through the door was opened a banner that emits output: "Farida will you marry me? Can ". Joe hugged his neck as soon as Farida. They ended up one's own, the output kerevet Leonard Cohen

Singer Leonard Cohen does not play songs—he plays feelings. Besides being blessed with the "gift of a golden voice," he is blessed with the power to communicate with huge crowds of people. Only a handful of performers have that ability to grab people's attention with a handful of words and then hold it for hours. This can be best seen on the recently released DVD Leonard Cohen at the Isle of Wight 1970 (Columbia/Legacy, 2009) where he addressed a raucous crowd of 600,000 people with the words "Can everyone light a match so I can see where you are?," thus promptly captivating the unruly masses that night. That is actually the secret of a man whose songs, poems and novels have, for many, become precious guides into the innermost workings of their own hearts and souls. Cohen is just a different breed altogether: a graying scholar in performance, style, and substance.

Much has been said about geniuses and their peculiar nature, especially their stubborn determination to swim against the current. Someone has said that a genius is a secular version of sainthood, but in the world of Leonard Cohen, who has been a quester all of his life, the secular and the sacred always intertwined. And his songs have always been ones of experience. With creators of his stature, in creating their own worlds, they help us to make sense of this one.

Cohen's 2009 performance in Belgrade, Serbia was a momentous, emotional occasion. That triumphant tour ran for over two years and cemented him an enviable live reputation and earned him rave reviews. When it was over in 2010, with 247 concerts behind him, Cohen immediately began working on his next record, Old Ideas (Columbia, 2012). Cohen's 2008-10, tour and the new album proved that, despite the steadily increasing years, he remains a powerful and bewitching performer and author, one who still pays his rent in the "Tower of Song."

It takes a certain alchemy to make a gig special, and it's difficult to explain to those that haven't seen Cohen in concert why this icon is so such a great live performer. His concerts really are an amazing experience, a bravura display of inner confidence as Cohen roams around the stage (or kneels) while his band mates follow him, adapting to the mood of each song and moment. He has total command of the stage, defying the years to deliver sensitive, emotionally expressive versions of a catalogue of some of the greatest songs ever written.

Cohen again worked his magic, and the spell he cast was mesmerizing at the Ulker Sports Arena, a newly opened indoor arena located in the area of Ataşehir, on the Asian side of Istanbul, Turkey. It is a beautiful rounded building with a capacity of 15,000 people and, beside hosting sporting events, it was one of the stops on Leonard Cohen's current Old Ideas world tour. For both his band and the enthusiastic crowd, each song was an event. Even if he'd never had a top 20 single, no one would have noticed, from the crowd's emotional and often joyful reaction to this man's songs. It is not an everyday sight to see the 78 years old Leonard Cohen skipping onstage with impish pleasure, and kneeling to sing "Dance Me till The End of Love." It's this humility, tremendous energy and humor that kept people hypnotized and mesmerized. Witnessing souls laid bare by the performers ensured a sumptuous match between performer and location, both immersed in hushed reverence.

The songs that Cohen performed came from all corners of his illustrious career, ranging from classics such as "Everybody Knows," "The Future" and "Bird on A Wire" to "Hallelujah," "I'm Your Man," "Heart With No Companion" and "Suzanne." The new songs also fared well in the company of these classics, with "Darkness," "Amen" and "Going Home," from Old Ideas all well-received. Picking highlights among the show's dozens of signature moments is no easy feat, but "The Night is On," which expanded on the melody of "Suzanne," that made the biggest impression.

A man is as good as the company he keeps and the people with whom he works, and this touring band was a constant source of wonderment. The band sidestepped expectation at every turn while displaying a chemistry that was as unique as the leader himself. No wonder Cohen often stood mesmerized when someone from the band shone brightly on his instrument. "Who by Fire" and "I'm Your Man " received rousing receptions, the audience leaping to its feet in response to stirring performances that brought the songs to a rousing conclusion through the innate connection between the band members themselves.

As the twin encores—magnificent renditions of "So Long Marianne," "First We Take Manhattan," "Famous Blue Raincoat" and "Closing Time"— brought the night to an end, there was a real sense that Cohen had reconnected with his fan base and audience with a thoughtful, well-measured and exhilarating live show. Somehow, between the magic of his fantastic songs, his superb band, the mysterious charisma of the man himself and the will of the crowd to enjoy the moment, something strange and spectacular happened: a thrilling performance that nobody, perhaps not even the man at its centre, could really explain. When Cohen sings with total conviction, age is irrelevant. Class is permanent. Every show feels unique. The Ulker Sports Arena witnessed one of the best.